Improving healthcare quality in Europe

"Quality improvement initiatives take many forms, from the creation of standards for health professionals, health technologies and health facilities, to audit and feedback, and from fostering a patient safety culture to public reporting and paying for quality. For policy-makers who struggle to decide which initiatives to prioritise for investment, understanding the potential of different quality strategies in their unique settings is key.....This book is intended to help policy-makers to understand concepts of quality and to support them to evaluate single strategies and combinations of strategies."

Improving healthcare quality in Europe: Characteristics, effectiveness and  implementation of different strategies
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies
October 2019

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Role of the arts in improving health and well-being

What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being in the WHO European Region?
World Health Organization
November 2019

"Arts interventions, such as singing in a choir to improve chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, are considered non-invasive, low-risk treatment options and are increasingly being used by Member States to supplement more traditional biomedical treatments. The Health Evidence Network (HEN) synthesis report on arts and health, which will be launched on 11 November 2019, maps the global academic literature on this subject in both English and Russian. It references over 900 publications, including 200 reviews covering  over 3000 further studies. As such, the report represents the most comprehensive evidence review of arts and health to date."

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Doctors' vision for change in the NHS

"Despite a growing need for care to be integrated around the needs of patients, doctors are prevented from providing joined-up care by bureaucratic barriers, communication gaps and competing organisational priorities. Working in silos is bad for patients and doctors. Removing obstacles to collaboration can help reduce doctors’ workloads and the unnecessary waste of time and resources."

Caring, supportive, collaborative: Doctors' vision for change in the NHS
BMA
2019

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Involving patients and the public in research

"The literature suggests there is value in a measured and customised approach to PPI based on the needs of the project. Doing PPI just for the sake of it, or bolting it onto already-agreed agendas, risks having unintended consequences."

Involving patients and the public in research
Marjanovic S, Harshfield A, Carpenter A, Bertscher A, Punch D, Ball S
The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute, The Health Foundation
2019

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Systematic review of the effectiveness of quality improvement toolkits

"The review documents publicly available toolkits and their components. Available uptake data are limited but indicate variability. High satisfaction with toolkits can be achieved but the usefulness of individual tools may vary. The existing evidence base on the effectiveness of toolkits remains limited. While emerging evidence indicates positive effects on clinical processes, more research on toolkit value and what affects it is needed, including linking toolkits to objective provider behavior measures and patient outcomes."

Spread tools: a systematic review of components, uptake, and effectiveness of quality improvement toolkits
Hempel S, O’Hanlon C, Lim YW, Danz M, Larkin J, Rubenstein L
Implementation Science. 2019;14(1):83

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Healthy, prosperous lives for all: the European Health Equity Status Report

"The Health Equity Status Report (HESR) is a comprehensive review of the status and trends in health inequities and of the essential conditions needed for all to be able to live a healthy life in the WHO European Region."

Healthy, prosperous lives for all: the European Health Equity Status Report
World Health Organization
2019

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Evidence use in health, teaching, and policing

"This report outlines the pioneering evidence work of UK and Irish professional bodies in health, teaching and policing. They have been championing research and evaluation in the daily work of more than one million professionals – to improve the lives of patients, pupils and the wider public."

Bodies of Evidence How professional organisations in health, education and policing champion the use of research
J Breckon, H Mthiyane, J Shepherd
September 2019

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